Where to Start If you are a Beginner at Sewing

So you want to learn to sew but you are not sure how? If you have had no experience with sewing and are not sure where to start you have a few alternatives. 

I had my first experience with sewing as a teenager in junior high school. There I learned to use patterns and make simple items and the basics about a sewing machine. Unfortunately I did not learn enough and what I learned was not very practical in the real world. So for years I did not sew at all. 

Then one day I decided I wanted to learn how to sew again, I started by buying a sewing machine, a good basic model that was suitable for beginners but would last me for a while. The next thing I did was pick up a book that taught me everything I needed to know about how to use a pattern and went through the terminology that I might encounter. I remembered just enough from my school days to work my way through the book and in no time I was making my own clothes for my kid. 

If you can get in a class for beginners then can be an excellent way to get started, this offers you an instructor for troubleshooting any difficulties you might have. Not everybody has the access or ability to take a class however, so my next recommendation is that you find a book or video that you can learn from at home. You should do this before you buy your sewing machine, since it will help you to decide just what features you most want in a machine. 

There are many excellent books that you can buy; I personally would plan on buying more than one and a couple of videos as well. 

You will of course need to buy a sewing machine at some point if you do not already have one. There are many excellent sewing machine review sites available on the Internet as well as websites that encourage their customers to leave reviews. These are excellent sources of information about what sewing machine to would be best for a beginner but will still meet your specific needs down the road. 

Now that you have some knowledge and a machine you will need to choose your first project, you may want to start with something very simply, I suggest playing with your machine a bit, maybe making a pillow or table runners as a first time project just to get comfortable with your machine. When you are ready to start making clothing start with something easy that will give you a feel for working with a pattern first become you jump into something more complex. 

Above all enjoy your new found skill and have fun, sewing is about being creative, so explore the many things you can do with your new sewing machine and you will learn and gain experience as you go.